Sponsoring Company: Great Minds

See how Colorado schools are using phenomena to drive K–2 science instruction. We'll dive into a PhD Science® module to discover how phenomenon-driven instruction anchors student learning. Participants will hear from a piloting Colorado district and leave with access to the free K–2 OER materials.

SPEAKERS:
Madeline Cronk, Rebecca Rolater

Hear how a K-8 district just north of Chicago with 18 schools is transforming science teaching and learning through cultivating Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), leveraging teacher leaders, and centering student voice.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teacher leaders & students are crucial to scaling reform efforts. Participants will walk away with a detailed model for cultivating science PLCs and example strategies for elevating student voice.

SPEAKERS:
Kristie Rachell, Meghan Thomas, Megan McDermott, Alissa Berg, Elida Patino

Sponsoring Company: Community Training and Assistance Center (CTAC)

This session explores a unique approach to integrated STEM. The approach places curricular units that focus on engineering and computer science directly into the core curriculum for every student, PreK-12.

SPEAKERS:
Scott Reynolds

Science education has a key role to play in supporting a just transition to the climate crisis. Participants will learn about 20 priority areas associated with climate and environmental justice—and explore educational approaches, resources, and groups related to these areas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Working towards climate justice involves a multifaceted set of issues and priorities. Teachers will identify which priority areas relate to their goals and context and learn about related resources. A climate justice framework will help teachers learn about different dimensions of climate justice.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell, Deb Morrison, Nancy Price, Kelsie Fowler

Participants will use the engineering design process to imagine and build challenges that link with popular rhymes. Lively learning activities will integrate NGSS, math, literacy, and SEL, supporting research that science and engineering should be included for early elementary students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Engineering activities can be effectively utilized with early primary students, supporting their growth not only in science, but also in math, ELA, and SEL. Participants will experience engineering exercises that can be readily integrated into their classroom practice.

SPEAKERS:
Pam Nolan-Beasley

Educators in Infant/Toddler classrooms can feel pressure to "teach science" in their groups. Yet, infants and toddlers, allowed to freely explore, engage in science learning daily. The framework's dimensions are part of their world, but adults seldom recognize this.

TAKEAWAYS:
The everyday "play" of infants and toddlers include their attempts to investigate their world, to find out patterns and predictability of objects in their lives. Adults who work with the youngest children rarely understand the scientific concepts that are being investigated and learned.

SPEAKERS:
Ellen Cogan

Empower students to investigate the natural world as career scientists do. In this workshop, we will explore accessible field and lab activities from the Chicago Botanic Garden Plant Biology and Conservation graduate program including instructional strategies, lesson plans, and low-cost activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
All students deserve access to high-quality and authentic science experiences. Incorporating real-world scientific training into the classroom provides students with opportunities to be successful in science and contribute to expanding scientific knowledge.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Turner-Rosa

This session is for you teachers who want to deepen your understanding of climate change, and gather strategies for teaching it at an age-appropriate level. We will also discuss how to answer a student who declares, “My dad says he doesn’t believe in climate change!” Been there. Let’s talk.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers learn basic climate science and practice conceptual modeling to clarify and communicate their understanding, so they will feel confident teaching climate. Examples of differentiated instruction for ELL, struggling students, and GT students, are also given to reach all children.

SPEAKERS:
Kottie Christie-Blick

Sponsoring Company: Amplify Science

Through reflecting on our own personal ‘why’ for teaching science, we’ll consider how to spark a love of science for the next generation of solution seekers. Using exemplar activities and teacher moves, explore ways to celebrate student thinking, be responsive, and promote deep scientific thinking.

SPEAKERS:
Eric Cross

Classroom physical activity has been linked to improved academic performance, attention, concentration, and on-task behavior for students. This interactive session will provide strategies and activities for integrating physical activity into the science classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the association between movement integration and learning, as presenters share current research and examples of movement activities designed to increase understanding, engagement, and performance.

SPEAKERS:
Suzanne Lindt, Stacia Miller

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Arts integration is a holistic approach that enables students to access the curriculum while developing scientific skills needed for the twenty-first century. Learn how poetry, music, storytelling, drama, visual art, and creative movement can be meaningfully embedded within the science curriculum.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Walters

Sponsoring Company: TCI

Learn to promote interest and engagement while helping students achieve specific learning objectives with games. Join us as you learn simple and valuable ways to gamify your lessons. We will be sharing a few creative game ideas for building relationships and reviewing and learning content.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Kumar

Engaging students in science practices, like arguing from evidence, supports a vision of inclusive instructional strategies. Come explore how students in a fourth grade classroom argue from evidence to figure out which organism was pollinating the moonflower, which only blooms at night.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will come away with an example of how to structure argumentation in the 4th grade classroom through observing student data organization and student discourse.

SPEAKERS:
Betsy Barent, Miranda Orellana

A team of Science Consultants and Early Literacy Coaches in Michigan has utilized recommendations in the power of the Brilliance and Strengths Report, combined with data on elementary-level science education, to devise an approach to support literacy practices within science instructional time.

TAKEAWAYS:
The attendees will learn what the SLIC Model consists of, as well as how to find out more to gain supports to implement themselves. There are Facilitator Guides, Train-the-Trainer Professional Learning opportunities, and sessions built out to take with them. This is an OER resource.

SPEAKERS:
Wendi Vogel

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Learn fun strategies for using informational texts to support your young learners’ sensemaking. Investigate supports with these texts that help students gather more information, use new vocabulary, and experience new ways of talking about their ideas about the world of science around them.

SPEAKERS:
Jen Gutierrez

To meet the spirit and vision of NGSS, teachers need pedagogies and practices for facilitating scientific discourses at various stages of STEM lessons. This session introduces three discourse frameworks to help students engage in the practices of listening and speaking like scientists and engineers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn pedagogy and practice for scientific discourses. Participants learn how to facilitate 1.) science talks — how to generate curiosity, wonder, and theorize; 2.) scaffolding action, how to engage and expand scientific investigation and engineering design; and 3.) foster scientific argumentation.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Devitt

This interactive session will dive into nature-based learning experiences that help youth develop and maintain positive relationships, become lifelong learners, and contribute to a more caring and just world.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will model a way to advance educational equity using learning environments that feature trusting and collaborative relationships paired with meaningful instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Maurine Banzhaf

Increase knowledge aligning SEPs with science DCIs. Will students Plan/Conduct investigations using Inquiry lessons, or will they define simple design problems practicing STEM protocols? Design/build Paper Helicopters and Huff & Puff Vehicles practicing both ways of doing science. FACTs included.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will take away two classroom models (Paper Helicopters & Huff/Puff Vehicles) and experience firsthand how to engage students in collaborative, inclusive groups to solve problems and build community. Try to constrain yourselves as you set up your criteria for success! FACTs modeled, too!

SPEAKERS:
Tina Harris, Carolyn Mohr

This session looks at the research behind play-based learning and ways of and criteria for assessing science play in the P-2 group. Participant will actively assess several play scenarios.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with experience assessing some science play scenarios, assessment guidelines, and research citations supporting play-based learning to use and share in their own contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Anne Lowry

This session provides an overview of teaching science for social justice and how elementary teachers can design explorations that use science to critique injustices. Participants will engage in an elementary hands-on, social justice science lesson and discuss ways to do the same in their contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will gain a deeper understanding of the importance of teaching science for social justice, along with practical classroom strategies informed by the Learning for Justice (2022) standards and Davis’ (2022) Four Approaches to Equity Framework, to design their own elementary science lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Alesia Moldavan, Bailey Nafziger

Engage in activities that show how to connect your current science lessons to cutting edge engineering research and inspire students to pursue careers in STEM. Receive access to K-5 NGSS aligned resources that immerse students in scenario based tasks using data from current STEM research.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to enhance student engagement, and promote STEM college and career pathways by connecting classroom learning to current engineering research at URI and UCONN. Leave with access to video and instructional resources aligned to NGSS and connected to the research.

SPEAKERS:
John Koziatek, Christopher Cochran, Valerie Maier-Speredelozzi, Zachary Orefice

This session will highlight and discuss key takeaways from the bestselling book Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy Helpful Little Humans that have practical applications for educators in their own classrooms, including the acronym TEAM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about some of the underpinning childrearing philosophies commonly found in cultures around the world that help lead to kind, confident, and contented kids, and leave with a toolbox of “best practices” that can be applied directly in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Elaine Wu

Sponsoring Company: TCI

Join our dynamic workshop, blending engineering and speed dating! Experience hands-on challenges inspired by TCI's K-8 science programs. Engage in "speed dates" with engineering activities, gaining valuable lessons and insights. Don't miss this innovative session!

SPEAKERS:
Sara Kumar

Sponsoring Company: Great Minds

Come along as we undergo a rigorous student experience to work through a complex investigation. Throughout the course of the session, participants will discover the importance of fostering an environment that encourages challenge where students can struggle in a safe space.

SPEAKERS:
Madeline Cronk

Sponsoring Company: Amplify Science

How do we uncover and leverage the wealth of background knowledge and experiences students bring to science classrooms? Join UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science for strategies and examples of how student-centered experiences can spark curiosity, empower students, and lead to deeper learning.

SPEAKERS:
Jonathan Curley, Daniel Alcazar-Roman

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

Scientific perspectives and data should help economic decisions, guide government policy, and improve health. Yet denial of science is everywhere. Evolution. Climate change, Vaccination. GMOs. We will analyze the causes of science denial, and discuss what can educators can do about it.

SPEAKERS:
Joseph Levine

All students have the right to develop a deep understanding of how the world works in ways that support their personal goals and the interests of their community. Come explore how instruction can more equitably support science learning that is consequential to your students and their communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will develop an understanding of an equity project framework for science education for supporting professional learning and implementation projects. They will learn how open education resources (http://stemteachingtools.org/) can help them develop equitable approaches to science teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell, Michal Robinson

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Join our interactive science workshop where literacy meets exploration! Immerse yourself in a world of discovery as we blend scientific concepts with the power of language. Through engaging activities, see how students will not only unravel the wonders of science but also enhance their literacy skills. Leave with classroom resources.

SPEAKERS:
Hoover Herrera, Dr. Sarah Glassman

Sponsoring Company: Legends of Learning

Forget boring! Ignite learning with Legends of Learning's Game Based Adventures! Embark on an immersive learning experience. Active, engaging, unforgettable. Unleash the learning within!

SPEAKERS:
Sean Reidy, Jonathan Gerlach

Physical science and physics offer a wide assortment of authentic, open-ended early learning activities with hands-on multisensory materials and rich opportunities for group work, easily adapted for all learners, including children with diverse learning needs as they explore concepts and ideas.

TAKEAWAYS:
Adults help illuminate concepts and skills as children act on familiar multisensory, hands-on materials, developing their emerging scientific thinking, understanding, & causal reasoning. Before children can see themselves as scientists, adults must view all children as science learners.

SPEAKERS:
Shelly Counsell

Participate in an exploration of science and STEM learning tailored for young learners. Navigate through informative stations, engage with colleagues, and establish connections with science leaders. Depart with lessons and resources designed to elevate STEM and science in your classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Elementary and early childhood educators will leave with resources, lessons, and ideas that will advance science and STEM learning in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Williams

This project uses environmental topics from NGSS to promote research skills and strengthen awareness of the human impact on the planet, while also encouraging creativity through writing and visual arts. Lesson plans, bibliography, and strategies for implementing in K-5 will be included.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to use grade-level, NGSS standards and concepts as inspiration for students to research, write, and illustrate their own picture books.

SPEAKERS:
Kerry Teeple

Do you impact your school and community with STEM? If you teach K–12, come learn how to apply to win up to $20K through this teacher competition

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to apply for the Shell-sponsored teacher competition, and collaborate with past winners and judges to learn how to strengthen your application.

SPEAKERS:
Amanda Upton

The last total solar eclipse in the continental US for 21 years occurs this April. NSTA has assembled an abundance of resources for you to make the most of this teachable moment – from 3D learning materials, to safe viewing strategies, to ways to make it a school-wide experience

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will come away with links to resources for students to understand the science behind eclipses, plus safe viewing strategies and ways to make the event a school-wide experience.

SPEAKERS:
Dennis Schatz

Participants will explore an engineering design challenge that engages upper elementary students in the creation of tiny homes as a solution to homelessness after a local natural disaster. Explore Design Thinking principles and how empathy plays a role in authentic and inclusive STEM inquiry.

TAKEAWAYS:
Engage in an NGSS-based engineering design challenge where you design a solution for homelessness caused by natural disasters and learn the role of empathy in STEM inquiries by using Design Thinking principles and place-based strategies that engage all learners in STEM.

SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Williams

In this share a thon session, participants will see how early childhood students investigate the structure and function of different tree parts using common materials

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will see how hands on activities makes concepts more concrete for young students, and get ideas for ways they can create hands on activities

SPEAKERS:
Anne Lowry

Join NSTA and ECA Science Kits Services for the pilot of their ready-to-use (TM) Picture-Perfect STEM ClassPacks. These ClassPacks are built around the expanded editions of Picture-Perfect STEM Lessons, K, 1, and 2 and feature everything you and your students will need to perform those activities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science and literacy are a wonderful match, and our Picture-Perfect program combines these perfect partners to help you teach your elementary students through lesson/trade books and classroom activities. You teach the lessons, and we'll handle the rest, with refurbishments available for all kits.

SPEAKERS:
Cathy Iammartino, Emily Brady

Old Enough to Make a Difference? Yes, you are! It is possible for students of all ages to start making a positive difference in their community. Inspirations from student projects will be shared along with resources for teachers. Great ideas for family engagement nights, science fairs, and more!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will have resources that can used in the classroom and community right away.

SPEAKERS:
Katie Stevenson

Science and Children is the preeminent resource for educators of elementary and early childhood-aged children. Whether it is finding ideas for your classroom or writing articles to share with a wider audience, Science and Children is your resource for science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Find out how to write for Science and Children or discover the implementable ideas, strategies, and lessons contained within each journal.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Barrett-Zahn

Camouflage puppets, songs, and animal family activities for early childhood classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
Camouflage puppets, songs, and animal family activities for early childhood classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Scharff

Mission Arctic takes your students on an in-class field trip to the Arctic to explore the environment with scientists. Activities will include exploration of ice in the classroom promoting an understanding of what we can learn from ice and how it can inform our future.

TAKEAWAYS:
Scientists explore our natural world to understand what happened in the past, what is happening in the present, and how it can inform our future.

SPEAKERS:
Cathy Barthelemy

Experience 4 take-away activities for ages 2-8 in engineering and math. Integrate suggested apps from technology and the sciences. Preview a complete Science Fairy project for staff training. Bang for your dollar here.

TAKEAWAYS:
STEM activities (9) with at-conference DIY from That Science Fairy to implement in early education 2-8 settings

SPEAKERS:
Laura Weilert

We will demonstrate a 5E on the distribution of water on Earth (partially addressing 5-ESS2-2) and show how we give students experiences across the STEM disciplines. Each STEM discipline will be represented in the 5E.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will learn how you can embed science, engineering, technology, and math in a 5E on the distribution of water (5-ESS2-2).

SPEAKERS:
Elyse Clapp, Star Swain, Jesse Wilcox

How to create hands on science and engineering activities using simple supplies of just paper, tape and scissors. Effective for grades K-8

TAKEAWAYS:
Remove the expense factor that often hinders the inclusion of STEAM projects

SPEAKERS:
Godwyn Morris

Teachers will receive ready-made activity packet to be used with the free middle school lesson plans in middleschoolchemistry.com and the free elementary school lesson plans in inquiryinaction.org.

TAKEAWAYS:
Get access to free comprehensive lesson plans in chemistry for middle school and elementary school students.

SPEAKERS:
James Kessler

Teachers how to begin planting using upcycled and free materials, how to reuse containers as planters, how to make biodegradable seedling planters in seconds, and how to transform desolate ground into a blooming wildflower garden with seeds and a container of air-dry clay.

TAKEAWAYS:
Simple, easy, and inexpensive methods for starting a school garden by using upcycled and free materials

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Kurson

Observations are the basis for understanding science principles, especially in elementary. Have you wondered if it is possible to “change” something by measuring it? Is there a difference in observation and measurement? Come find out.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students will be able to distinguish between destructive and non-destructive measurements. Students will be able to explain the difference in measurement and observation. Students will be able to determine when a change occurs while being measured.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Matsler

Students have “glow in the dark” clothes and hard seen UV beads, but do they know why they glow? Probably not. Use phenomena to help students understand the glow (energy transformations) that are seen in nature and man-made materials. Those stars on their ceiling will never be viewed the same again.

TAKEAWAYS:
Things that glow are naturally engaging to students. Understanding why they glow can open many different avenues for students to investigate. From man-made objects to plants and animals, this phenomena can move students forward in understanding and identifying energy transformations.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Matsler

Demonstrating motion is easy, but what about allowing students to collect data for nonaccelerated motion? A simple activity engages students with dune buggies to show how data is taken for distance and how graphing that data is a great visual representing constant velocity or uniform motion.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn how use a constant speed dune buggy to show students how uniform motion is measured and graphed.

SPEAKERS:
Karen Matsler

Come build a wildlife crossing! Combine the science behind reconstructing a fragmented ecosystem and the engineering behind building a wildlife crossing into a relevant project-based learning opportunity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Young students will investigate how to be powerful problem solvers in their community. Through hands-on experiences, they will learn the engineering of bridge building combined with the science behind reconnecting a fragmented ecosystem.

SPEAKERS:
Kristen Nordstrom

It is never too early to introduce students to robotics and coding. Learn about opportunities that are available at the elementary school level. Developing an early curiosity about how to solve problems, while working together are valuable skills that students will be able to use for a lifetime.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn about the resources that are available to begin a robotics program at the elementary school level.

SPEAKERS:
Nancy McIntyre

Learn about all the ways that Denver Botanic Gardens connects K-12 students with nature and take back free resources and strategies to use in your classrooms. We will highlight virtual programs, STEM career exploration resources, and free worksheets and curricula around climate change.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will learn about educational opportunities with Denver Botanic Gardens and Budburst, a project of Chicago Botanic Gardens. Take back free resources on STEM career exploration, climate change, citizen science, pollinators and more.

SPEAKERS:
Katelin Gaeth

Check out some dazzling rocks and minerals and learn about the Reginal EMMY Nominated "Every Rock Has A Story" YouTube Channel, a free educational archive of videos created and hosted by Professor Ethan Baxter of Boston College. Inspire your students through the stories of the Earth.

TAKEAWAYS:
There is so much more to rocks and minerals than just identifying them. You will learn some of the amazing and diverse stories locked inside all rocks. Learn how to navigate the 82 episodes from Seasons 1-4, with topics and co-hosts spanning all facets of Earth and Space Science content.

SPEAKERS:
Ethan Baxter

A variety of activities exploring seeds, including: comparing and contrasting by size, shape, color, texture; experimenting with samaras to ask scientific questions, like which way do they spin as they fall to the ground; and more. Books about seeds will be available to view.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to integrate science into language arts, using seeds.

SPEAKERS:
Frances Hamilton

Science involves specific vocabulary & terminology. Students cannot develop & use models, analyze & interpret data, or construct explanations without using terminology & language structures that characterize the language of science. Experience using a simple vocabulary scaffold to reduce barriers.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience using a simple vocabulary scaffold to reduce language barriers. This will support teachers' efforts to support students efforts to talk and write about science.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Jackson

Check out and learn how to access free ML-PBL integrated science curricular units for Grades K-5. See how the features of PBL support sensemaking, check out examples of unit overviews, literacy integration and recommended trade books, and research supporting the Multiple Literacies in PBL Project.

TAKEAWAYS:
After viewing examples from multiple units within the ML-PBL K-5 unit sequence, participants will learn how to access the free K-5 curricular resources on the Sprocket site. Handouts provide access to support for accessing and implementing the resources, or for adapting current units.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Codere

This year’s OSTB award books will be available for participants to peruse and enjoy. Additionally, we will share our methods and findings for a review of all 246 submitted books for topics in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Also, learn about our experiences serving on the committee!

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants can view and discuss the latest Outstanding Science Trade Book winners.

SPEAKERS:
Ana Houseal, Katie Morrison

To leverage the resources developed by the Shedd Aquarium team, this Share-a-Thon Table will offer free, grab-and-go resources for teachers: Sea Curious K-2 Lesson Plans, Stay Home with Shedd 3-5 Lesson Plans, Outdoor Learning Framework 6-12, and hands-on activities creating corals/mussels.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators will be able to leverage informal education resources from aquariums connected to NGSS and Amplify Science to bring authentic stories and examples to their theoretical classroom phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Max Metz Jr

The marine soundscape provides biodiversity and population data to help determine the health of an ecosystem. This lesson explores acoustic data to assess coral reefs' dynamics, functioning, and resilience. Students will construct explanations and make predictions using authentic bioacoustic data.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students will distinguish between abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic sounds. Biotic sounds tend to be more complex, with variations in frequency and pitch. Where abiotic and anthropogenic sounds are often characterized by uniformity.

SPEAKERS:
Missie Olson, Jocelyn Miller

Paramount tasks can develop learners’ scientific literacy and critical consciousness by problematizing real world situations. We will engage participants in explorations to demonstrate how community-centered phenomena and children’s literature can be catalysts for developing paramount tasks (EC-5).

TAKEAWAYS:
Paramount tasks foster opportunities to develop rigorous problems that intricately connect learners, their communities, and their cultures with key content and skills. This approach reflects the hallmark of the NGSS and positions learners and their communities at the forefront of learning.

SPEAKERS:
Kelley Buchheister

Connect with Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium to uncover how educators are bringing science to life for all students. At OHDZA, we know learning continues beyond the four walls of a traditional classroom. Join us to gain meaningful ways to connect students to the world around them!

TAKEAWAYS:
Meet with Omaha's Zoo and Aquarium education team to see how HQIM are used in our Zoo Academies, Zoo After-School Programs, Zoo Outreaches, and Citizen Science Programs. Take away innovative ideas using HQIM to build stronger instruction, deeper engagement, and higher achievements.

SPEAKERS:
Emily Bustos, Leah Litz

This introduction to STEM for elementary, secondary, or special education classrooms will allow participants to explore motion and energy while creating their own Rube Goldberg machine using found objects.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students can easily plan, build, and solve problems on their own Rube Goldberg project using recycled and found materials.

SPEAKERS:
Elaine Sevin

This is a hands-on session where participants will use every day items and associate their use with scientific concepts. They will find that multiple items will lead to the same concept, and/or that one item can be associated with multiple science concepts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Children can learn real science through every day items. A handout will help participants remember some of these concepts and the science terms they can use with children.

SPEAKERS:
Ellen Cogan

Communicating your findings is a huge piece of any science investigation or project. Come and see some of the different forms such communication can take in P-2 classes, as well as create some of your own!

TAKEAWAYS:
Ideas and formats for communicating science findings.

SPEAKERS:
Annette Venegas, Anne Lowry

65% of Elementary School students will enter STEM jobs that haven't been created yet. How do we prepare students for jobs that don't exist yet? While we don't know what problems our students will face, we do know that they will face problems, and those problems are solved through STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how Gwinnett County Public Schools is engaging our youngest scientists in science-fair-type experiences where curiosity takes its first steps.

SPEAKERS:
Brandon McKinney, Kristin Luthi

Participants will directly experience and undertake a more authentic science investigation by adapting and extending exisiting hands-on investigations. This is a step toward more student-directed investigations that allow exploration and the creation of evidence-based claims (i.e. sensemaking).

TAKEAWAYS:
Using the provided hands-on activities, participants will be given a plausible scenario encouraging them to explore and then create evidence-based claim(s) — modelling a more student-directed approach. This process strongly aligns with the sensemaking framework of explore-before-explain...

SPEAKERS:
Ian Kennedy

The NGSS highlights phenomena as one of the components of equitable instruction. This interactive workshop introduces an instructional tool that helps K-8 science teachers identify an appropriate phenomenon that will enable the teacher to plan and implement three-dimensional science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will have opportunities to share their perspectives in identifying anchoring phenomena, use a phenomenon tool to evaluate a range of phenomena and non-phenomena, and discuss some common issues in identifying and using anchoring phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Lin Xiang, Caitlin Ousley, Kristin Cook

Join a conversation with educators and the parent of an autistic child to gain awareness about autism and discuss ways to support the needs of autistic students and their families. Learn through discussion and anecdotal evidence from a parent’s perspective.

TAKEAWAYS:
Gain awareness about autism; the evolving science behind it, how families navigate therapies, and the struggles students face in the classroom. Ideally this experience will allow participants to develop a growth mindset around the support autistic students need in a general education setting.

SPEAKERS:
Fredrick Weisbrot

During this session, school leaders will explore a NGSS Implementation Toolkit that leverages classroom observations to support strategic alignment of resources for elementary science education. Participants will hear from educational leaders that utilize this tool to advocate for elementary science.

TAKEAWAYS:
This toolkit allows educational leaders across the system to gain a deeper understanding of student sensemaking and discourse in an NGSS-aligned elementary classroom. Teacher Leaders who open up their classrooms can leverage this process to advocate for structures and support for elementary science.

SPEAKERS:
Dawn O'Connor, Nancy Wright

This session introduces participants to the Dash robot and how it can be used in elementary science classrooms to explore the flow of energy. Participants will engage in a hands-on exploration with Dash to develop models using technology to illustrate sample food webs. Be sure to bring a laptop.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore how robotics can be used to communicate information about the flow of energy within an ecosystem (5-PS3-1 and 5-LS2-1). Participants will be introduced to the functionality of the Dash robot and how it can be used as a tool to develop a model to describe the phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Alesia Moldavan

Join us in mastering the art of the “explore-before-explain” instructional sequence, and witness the transformation in your classroom as you nurture an environment where every student’s voice resonates.

TAKEAWAYS:
An overview of essential planning considerations covers becoming an “explore-before-explain” teacher and designing lessons that use the assets all students bring to learning science.

SPEAKERS:
James Concannon, Patrick Brown

BYO Device to this hands-on workshop for the Next Generation Science Assessment (NGSA) project. Explore free, high-quality, multidimensional tasks, consider how to use them to create opportunities for your students to demonstrate their science understanding in your elementary classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will explore freely available online formative assessment resources to make students’ multidimensional science understanding visible. They will gain confidence in using the tasks with students, analyzing and interpreting student work, and making instructional decisions to support learning.

SPEAKERS:
Carla Strickland, Jeanne Di Domenico

In this session participants will learn about key ideas from multiple perspectives on the topics of: 1) anti-racism, inclusivity, and asset-based orientations – as foundational pedagogies for preparing future teachers. The goal is to develop a classroom that places belonging before achievement.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants challenge the achievement-first orientations to reframe classroom environments by placing ‘belonging’ as a central tenant of STEM pedagogy and practice.

SPEAKERS:
Adam Devitt

Sponsoring Company: TCI

This workshop offers a unique opportunity for educators to gain practical insights into integrating literacy skills within the science curriculum. Attendees will leave with tangible strategies and tools to enrich their teaching practices, fostering a more engaging learning experience for students.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Kumar

Join us to explore and reflect on research-based practices for improving science engagement and learning for multilingual students through a mini-lesson, discussing how these practices are working with our students, and considering how to apply these strategies in your own classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a selection of easy-to-implement practices for making science learning more accessible to multilingual students, and even other students in their classrooms.

SPEAKERS:
Renee Nesnidal, Esther Niemasik, Mary Hatton, Beth Murphy

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

In the STEM classroom, an effective teacher selects actions that have an impact on student achievement. Come learn about the 15 STEM Teacher Actions to enhance your instructional practices and achieve improved student achievement.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Campana

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Learn how to make magnetism visible and quantifiable for students! Dive into Earth science concepts such as modeling field strength, polarity, and orientation using the Go Direct® 3-Axis Magnetic Field Sensor. Investigate permanent magnets and electromagnets with hands-on, ready-to-use experiments.

SPEAKERS:
David Carter, Josh Ence

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Discover new ways to help students think and work like scientists and engineers. Through a hands-on lesson, we will model instruction and resources that support 3-dimensional teaching & learning including teacher instructional slides, student friendly materials, simulations, & student investigations

SPEAKERS:
Hoover Herrera

Sponsoring Company: Great Minds

Join us as we review the parameters of three-dimensional assessments and practice screening assessments for three-dimensionality. In this session, we'll brainstorm ways to work with system leaders to strategically plan around curriculum embedded assessments and uncover supports for every child.

SPEAKERS:
Madeline Cronk

Engage in teacher play with LED lights, objects, and screens that invite PK-2 students to independently investigate light & shadow phenomenon. STEM coaches and teachers will come away with a plan that gives children access to STEM learning every day during small group reading instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
STEM coaches and PK-2 teachers will take away a list of easily obtained open-ended materials and a classroom-tested plan to allow students to independently engage in student-led STEM investigations every day that grows STEM dispositions and elevates student literacy learning as an added benefit.

SPEAKERS:
Beth Dykstra VanMeeteren

How do we center our own students and their communities in NGSS units designed for a national audience? Explore and try out localizing approaches, resources, and examples that are grounded in equity-focused research and built out by K-8 teachers and district leaders implementing Amplify Science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will become familiar with an approach used to localize national curricula and will take away research-based and equity-centered tools, resources, and examples they can use in their own efforts to localize their curricula and create an inclusive classroom environment.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Abbott, Brad Street

Join us learning how to teach observational skills to young learners. We will scaffold steps for learning observational skills. Participants will then learn how to teach observational skills through activities aligned to the NGSS for PreK – 2nd grade, taking home several classroom-ready lessons.

TAKEAWAYS:
This session will focus on the skill of observation for young learners. We will focus on how to scaffold this skill of observation for PreK - 2nd graders using examples that are aligned to the NGSS and practicing them by using student-friendly activities that can be replicated in the classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Judith McDonald

Early grades students are the most curious, uninhibited learners. They are ready and eager to share their ideas. How do we support them in developing accurate science understandings about complex phenomenon?

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will explore complex phenomenon that support the NGSS K-5 standards, developing not only their own understandings, but considering how they can support students in group sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Ananda Weigand-Sheerer, Kelly Peason, Michael Occhino, Kimberly Fluet

Presenters will share three units in which science is integrated with ELA, math, and social studies. This session will share the process of unit creation and how incorporation with other content areas strengthens science instruction. Three units will be shared: kindergarten, 3rd, and 5th grade.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to integrate multiple content standards to strengthen science instruction, as well as leave with three examples of fully integrated elementary units. In addition to the sharing of the units, presenters will share the creation process so participants can engage in this work.

SPEAKERS:
Mandie Sanderman, Chelsie Byram

Research shows that time in nature is worth your WILD, with increased benefits for children. In this workshop, Denver Zoo will highlight the benefits of play in nature; how to build it into curriculum/schedules and ideas for implementing nature play tactics that engage entire school communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn strategies to increase learning through play in nature and parent/caregiver participation in their school community.

SPEAKERS:
Claire Buckley, Emily Murgia

Jason will explain why CLEAPSS and King’s College, London decided to undertake this action-research project and what it’s taught he, and his colleagues, about supporting elementary and middle school science leaders to champion and facilitate effective hands-on science in their schools.

TAKEAWAYS:
This presentation provides educational professionals and coaches with insights into the effective practices and ways of working that we have developed to support elementary and middle school science leaders to lead science across their schools.

SPEAKERS:
Jason Harding

Prior experience and knowledge are key to reading comprehension, especially for tackling complex texts. Join us for an interactive session where we'll explore how doing science and applying effective reading strategies are what students need to be successful readers and scientists.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students need to engage fully in the science and engineering practices in order to build reading comprehension. Science cannot be learned through reading alone, and readers need to be able to draw upon their experiences in science to understand and make sense of new concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Claudio Vargas, Diana Velez

In New Brunswick, NJ, district leaders and educators engaged in collaborative spaces to design placed-based and phenomena-driven learning experiences centered on climate science and environmental justice. The community became our curriculum as we advocated for the local/global environment.

TAKEAWAYS:
We will explore a placed-based, phenomena-driven instructional model to address local/global environmental issues, and engage in interdisciplinary learning centered on climate change standards, creating a collaborative space for us to dig deeper into climate science and environmental justice.

SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth Nunez

Purposeful use of quality media resources can provide young learners with opportunities to investigate a broad range of phenomena and support three-dimensional learning. Learn how media can connect science content to students’ lives and make the science content accessible to more students.

TAKEAWAYS:
You’ll leave the session with a list of resources and ideas for actively engaging your students with phenomena through media and tips for supporting your students engagement in science practices and crosscutting concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Nancy Gifford, Shawn Stevens

The crosscutting concepts are particularly powerful at the elementary level. Join as we explore their power!

TAKEAWAYS:
Leverage crosscutting concepts in ways that help elevate science learning across the k-5 grades

SPEAKERS:
Carla Zembal-Saul, Mary Starr

Come and see a model for an outdoor education day where invited scientists and environmental educators gather in a local state park to teach every student in our 3rd through 5th grade school. We have been hosting this event at a State Park near our school and it works. You can do it, too.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to successfully put together an outdoor education day involving local scientists, environmental educators, and conservationists. We have been putting together this event for over 10 years and can share what we have learned along the way.

SPEAKERS:
Jacob Tanenbaum

Explore the myriad of ways K-5 learners share their sensemaking

TAKEAWAYS:
Expand ways in which we see children's ways of communicating.

SPEAKERS:
Carla Zembal-Saul, Mary Starr

What will be describe in this session is are community science events that can be organized with themes that use natural phenomena or NGSS standards, practices, and outcomes that a school would like to promote. We will also share how we form these partnerships with local schools and museums.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to update these events to go beyond the traditional Family Science Events that are superficial. One main takeaway are example indepth activities and resources that can be used with families and students at local schools and museums. We share information about resources.

SPEAKERS:
Morgan Glann, Eli Vincent, Lauren Rupe, Jim McDonald, Emma Patrus

Use the STEM Teaching Tool’s self-documentation strategy as we go outdoors and create a map of our schoolyard. We will document observations & questions that can drive our learning. Consider how you might use a similar activity to connect classroom learning to your outdoor spaces.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to use outdoor spaces to keep students engaged and invested in building new science ideas driven from their own observations and questions.

SPEAKERS:
Kelly Houle, Holly Emery, Zachary Orefice

Phenomena-based teaching and learning in science authentically lends itself to integration with literacy, language development, and other subject areas, yet each is often taught in silos. Explore how to shift K-5 classroom practice towards an integrated approach that supports all students’ learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers and leaders will gain insight into principles of content integration with science as the anchor and will explore tools, strategies, and system-wide approaches they can use in their own K-5 context in order to identify and plan for more equitable interdisciplinary science instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Diana Velez, Rebecca Abbott

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Learn easy strategies for teaching life cycles, plants’ needs, structures & functions, & SEPs with Fast Plants phenomena. Learn techniques for growing Fast Plants, modeling germination, & investigating what plants need. Take away an elementary reader to accompany the flowering plant life cycle.

SPEAKERS:
Hedi Lauffer

Join us for an enlightening session where we delve into the profound role of culture in STEAM education. Discover why embracing cultural diversity is not just essential, but transformative. You'll leave equipped with practical strategies and the confidence to create an inclusive learning environment!

TAKEAWAYS:
Why are culturally inclusive strategies important in STEAM classrooms? How can you synthesize strategies that challenge and engage a diverse group of learners? In this session, we will reveal a planning tool that you can use to advocate for learner success in STEAM classroom settings.

SPEAKERS:
Deanna Taylor

Come learn two transformative whole class discussion routines for your classroom. “Data Discussions” support students in finding patterns in their data while “Sensemaking Summaries” guide them to integrate findings from multiple investigations to develop data-based explanations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will be equipped to use “data discussions” in lessons to help students notice and analyze meaningful patterns in investigations, and use “sensemaking summary” talks to help students develop sophisticated explanations of phenomenon by synthesizing key findings from multiple investigations.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Forsythe

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Models are tools for representing ideas and developing explanations related to phenomena. Models can be used to deepen student understanding of scientific and math concepts. You will identify connections to the use of models in your instruction while examining your state standards and/or frameworks.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Thompson

Attendees will learn how fit in all 3 dimensions of the NGSS while working under the significant time constraints of a typical elementary classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with a unit map planning document, sample anchor phenomena and example SEP activities.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Magaw

Introducing Sprocket: Powered by Educurious! Sprocket is a free platform with OER project-based learning science courses for educators everywhere. Created by researchers, experts, and educators, Sprocket is now part of Educurious. Join us for a guided tour of Sprocket’s courses and online community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Sprocket is the world’s only OER platform providing access to evidence-based, full-year, project-based learning courses at no cost. Participants will learn how to navigate Sprocket, access the curriculum, and connect with an online community of colleagues and collaborators.

SPEAKERS:
Angela Rosenberg, Hanna Jaramillo, Sara Nachtigal, Alexandra Goodell

Multilingual students' science knowledge isn’t always visible to educators. Our innovative research uncovers that knowledge regardless of students’ English language skills. You’ll learn about our research and how to build multilingual multimodal assessments for your own instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will learn about multilingual and multimodal formative assessment strategies and how to implement them in your science instruction. You will have access to a formative assessment activity template and a rubric for reviewing multilingual and multimodal formative assessment activities.

SPEAKERS:
Keira Ballantyne, Brittany York

Sponsoring Company: Publisher Spotlight

The Roccos will discuss their new book, Wild Places: The Life of Naturalist David Attenborough, and the Children’s Book Creators for Conservation goal of creating free conservation-based programs for schools nationwide. They will end with an interactive “game show” about endangered animals.

SPEAKERS:
John Rocco, Hayley Rocco

In this interactive PBL experience, attendees will LISTEN to the STEAM podcast “Wow in the World”, WONDER to generate ideas, TINKER to choose a testable hypothesis, and MAKE a multimedia scientific inquiry or engineering design project in the free, private, and NGSS-aligned TinkerClass platform.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to streamline PBL instruction, manage the classroom to develop 21st Century skills, and excite K-5 students about hands-on scientific inquiry and engineering design using TinkerClass’ modular LISTEN, WONDER, TINKER, and MAKE experience.

SPEAKERS:
Carole Paterson, Twee Mac

NASA's Next Gen STEM SPARX (Sparking Participation and Real-world eXperiences in STEM) offers an exciting entry-level opportunity for K-2 educators to access standards-aligned activities and resources that follow evidence-based practices to equip their students with the skills to thrive in STEM.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the educator benefits of NASA SPARX and how this evidence-based model was selected, and will try their hands at some of the curated engineering design activities from the K-2 Educator Guide.

SPEAKERS:
Steven Smith, Miranda Fike

Participants will learn how school districts were able to increase elementary science access by establishing a District Science team grounded in distributed leadership and using the principles and tools of Improvement Science. Panelists' insights and a toolkit of resources will be shared.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how several districts developed a distributed leadership team focused on increasing access to elementary science education. They will hear from panelists and explore the tools and processes these teams used as part of their science leadership teams.

SPEAKERS:
Nancy Wright, Dawn O'Connor

In this workshop, we will explore the benefits of incorporating BIPOC ecological knowledge into curriculum and engage with methods to support culturally inclusive science learning. Using Papahānaumokuākea as an example, we will investigate how to infuse hope and SEL into climate science.

TAKEAWAYS:
Incorporating diverse ecological perspectives and knowledge systems can enrich students' well-being, sharpen their scientific skills, and empower them to tackle diverse climate and environmental issues.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Turner-Rosa

An integrated science+CS module about invasive species sets the stage for inclusive and culturally responsive instruction. Come to find out how we embedded inclusive approaches into our lessons, and take away hands-on, practical strategies to apply these approaches in your own classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will apply an Equity-Centered Curriculum Framework to inspect and modify existing science lessons to create classroom experiences that meet the needs of all learners. The Framework synchronizes Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Universal Design for Learning, and Project-Based Learning.

SPEAKERS:
Carla Strickland, Annmargareth Marousky, Jeanne Di Domenico

Learn strategies for planning an anchoring phenomenon routine that will generate questions to drive student learning. Participants will wear a "student hat" to share an experience to make sense of phenomenon.

TAKEAWAYS:
Planning inquiry-based lessons are easy as 1, 2, 3... Using an anchoring phenomenon routine to drive student learning.

SPEAKERS:
Karla White, Lisa Pitts

Talk is fundamental to learning. This workshop engages participants in a variety of talk strategies specifically designed for improving classroom equity while engaging in STEM learning experiences. Many supporting resources are shared that teachers can learn from and directly use with students.

TAKEAWAYS:
The goal of this session is to support teachers in understanding how best to meet the needs of all learners by starting from where students are at and drawing on their intuitive ideas and real world experiences to inform instruction. All strategies are framed as equitable 3D formative assessment.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison, Kelsie Fowler

Experience PreK-2 lessons, learn outdoor classroom management, and hear philosophies from School in the Woods, a public school with an outdoor focus. Crosscurricular lessons that meet your standards with 3-D Learning through outdoor, hands-on, minds-on discovery. Turn your classroom inside OUT !

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers will experience outdoor lessons to use with students to meet all areas of the curriculum (with indoor alternatives and in/out infusion ideas). Free nature notebook.

SPEAKERS:
Maurine Banzhaf, DeLene Hoffner

Investigate fostering scientific understanding and practice skills in our youngest learners. Take away topics of inquiry and tools for planning experiments and documenting student thinking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will come away with strategies to: • Plan investigations to integrate science into their early childhood curriculum. • Build scientific practice skills in all of our youngest learners. • Reveal and document student understanding through lab notebooks.

SPEAKERS:
Alyssa Barr, Katie Morrison

Delve into children’s literature that merges storytelling and science explanations, inviting elementary students to unravel intriguing investigations and uncover how and why science works.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will examine children’s literature that enhances critical thinking and guides elementary students in refining science models and explanations post-investigation. This session will showcase the transformative potential of literature in elementary science.

SPEAKERS:
Colleen Saxen, Michelle Fleming

Receive practical ideas to build understanding about how to combine hands-on activities and computational thinking skills as tools to understand the nature of sound and waves and support NGSS practices: analyze/interpret data, use computational thinking, construct explanations and design solutions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Offer ideas to integrate hands-on activities and computational thinking skills as tools to build confidence in, and understanding of, NGSS PS4-Sound and Waves. Provide examples about how we may advance teaching and learning in K-8 cross-disciplinary STEM and Computation education.

SPEAKERS:
Laura Robertson, Dylan Singleton, Chelsie Pratt, Chihche Tai, Michaela Slagle

Sponsoring Company: Activate Learning

Investigate strategies and ideas for using informational texts in science. As students obtain, evaluate, construct explanations, and communicate information about the world around them, engaging with informational texts is critical for building this background knowledge and supporting sensemaking.

SPEAKERS:
Tracy Marmolejo

Sponsoring Company: TCI

Join our session to learn how to harness the power of three-dimensional Performance Assessments! Beyond evaluating learning, these assessments offer students a meaningful context to demonstrate understanding. Explore the role of performance assessments in teaching core science concepts effectively.

SPEAKERS:
Sara Kumar

Sponsoring Company: hand2mind

Finding time to teach science can be one of the most difficult tasks for an elementary teacher. Come experience how to engage students in phenomena-based learning in just 15-30 minutes a day using the 5E model.

SPEAKERS:
Brittany Goerig

Led by members of NSTA Early Childhood-Elementary Committee, the session addresses the relationship between science education & children’s literature by providing an interactive platform for educators to discover how literature can support & enhance science & engineering practices in the classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore the integration of children's literature with science and engineering practices through cross-disciplinary connections and hands-on activities. Resources provided.

SPEAKERS:
Simone Nance, Jennifer Williams, Katie Morrison, Melissa Parks, Annette Venegas, Jenn Brown-Whale, Anne Lowry

Experience the “magnetic attraction” of science and literacy while figuring out a noncontact force. Participants use speaking, listening, reading and writing to engage in a phenomenon routine that includes noticing, wondering, modeling, and finding evidence to support or refute their thinking.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants understand the interdependency of science and literacy, receive knowledge of where to find investigations embedded with “inquiry principles” incorporated in the science and engineering practices, a sample interactive read aloud, and a resource list for everything shared in the session.

SPEAKERS:
Sandra Ryack-Bell, Kathy Renfrew

When students engage in integrated math activities, they make deeper connections, gain a stronger understanding of concepts, and see the concepts as a whole. Teachers in K-2, 3-5, and 6-8 will collaborate on an integrated math activity focused on determining cloud coverage to connect with nature.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will be provided lesson plans and student work to initiate discussions about what this could look like in their classrooms. At the end of the session, participants will see how collecting weather data can be integrated daily into their classrooms and help students connect with nature.

SPEAKERS:
Michelle Parslow, Katherine Vela

Explore a suite of free, standards-aligned lessons that get elementary students engaged with climate science by connecting them to their environment, fostering empowerment, and supporting social-emotional and interdisciplinary learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how climate science can be included in elementary classrooms in ways that help students feel empowered, connected to their environment, and grow their social-emotional skills as they learn how climate works and how climate change happens.

SPEAKERS:
Melissa Rummel, Leanne Rehme, Katie Wolfson, Lisa Gardiner

Former teacher and host of the freely-available Tumble Science Podcast for Kids Marshall Escamilla will guide science educators in the nuts and bolts of creating a classroom podcast. We’ll cover the very basics of getting set up and sharing your content with the entire community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees at this session will learn the very basics of how to create a classroom podcast from a professional podcaster.

SPEAKERS:
Marshall Escamilla, Mary Starr

Sponsoring Company: STEM Sports®

STEM Sports' session will provide participants with a hands-on approach to learning STEM disciplines through Sports. Attendees will take on the role of students and be given an overview of how to design a sustainable golf course by considering the good of the planet, people, and profitability.

SPEAKERS:
Jeff Golner

Indigenous peoples throughout time have used STEM skills. This workshop features the STEM skills correlated with the Ute peoples of Colorado as an example of how all indigenous people STEM skills can be highlighted in social studies class content.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will experience how History Colorado developed Ute indigenous peoples STEM connections into a traveling take-out kit. Participants will be encouraged to explore collaboration with their history museums to encourage development of resources focused on their indigenous peoples.

SPEAKERS:
Maurine Banzhaf

Sponsoring Company: Vernier Science Education

Discover how to create 3D learning opportunities for your students with KidWind. Explore the engineering design elements of a wind turbine, build prototypes, and test and optimize them for design efficiency. Sharpen students’ problem-solving and engineering skills through real-world applications.

SPEAKERS:
Josh Ence, David Carter

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Experience how science lessons can be structured using teacher instructional slides, where students work in groups, with specific roles, to develop claims [about how motion energy moves and changes] based on evidence observed through hands-on experiences. Leave with classroom resources.

SPEAKERS:
Hoover Herrera

Grade 5 NGSS-aligned curriculum, instruction, and assessment resources created by the SIPS Project provide a scalable and coherent approach to improve three-dimensional science learning for all students including unpacking the science content, teaching and learning, and assessing student progress.

TAKEAWAYS:
Educators’ ability to use three-dimensional instruction and assessment resources to provide inclusive, equitable instruction, promote sensemaking, assess learning, and make instructional decisions, will be enhanced. Benefits of a coherent system to improve student outcomes will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Rhonda True, Mary Nyaema, Bill Herrera, Charlene Turner

Environmental issues, such as plastic pollution in the ocean, are often global in scale and thus overwhelming for students to consider. We’ll explore how engineering can frame these problems so that they are manageable for students to solve in the classroom while remaining relevant to global issues.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to apply socially engaged engineering to environmental problems using free lessons from the Museum of Science, Boston. Experience open-ended design challenges that get students thinking about large-scale environmental issues while building their confidence in solving problems.

SPEAKERS:
Darshita Shah

Sponsoring Company: Carolina Biological Supply Co.

Add excitement to your class with live organisms! Explore how organisms find food and interact. Discuss how these two hands-on activities can be applied to younger students: How creatures find food, and to older students: Social behavior and inter-species interactions.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Nixon

Beatrix Potter, mycologist? George Washington, agriculturalist? Rosalynn Carter, entomologist? Learn how biographies and other trade books about citizen scientists can lead to the exploration of the wonders of nature.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore how they can address the NGSS and integrate literacy through incorporating high-quality science trade books about citizen scientists such as Beatrix Potter.

SPEAKERS:
Amy Broemmel, Kristin Rearden

Taking up and building on students’ ideas and ways of knowing is important for equitably supporting student sensemaking, but this can be a challenge. In this session, participants practice talk moves that encourage K-3 students to build on their prior experiences and drive learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
How can we more effectively leverage student prior knowledge for sensemaking in the classroom? Participants will practice talk moves to guide students to actively reason about a K-3 appropriate phenomenon, engage with alternative ideas, and build to more complex scientific explanations.

SPEAKERS:
Mary Short, Dr. Emily Harrison

Urban elementary teachers and researchers will share successes from the NSF-funded Teaching Science Outdoors – Urban Partnerships project, describe their experiences fostering place-based science learning that is hands-on, heads-on, and hearts-on, and offer ideas to use in your instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn about the value of the 3H framework (hands-on, heads-on, and hearts-on) in place-based science learning using urban spaces. They will leave the session with real-life examples, resources, and ideas shared by teachers using the framework in their work with students.

SPEAKERS:
Kieshaune Perkins, Roberta Hunter

Collaborative talk between students is essential to students’ scientific sensemaking and learning. However, promoting, organizing, and facilitating large group, or even whole-class, talk can be challenging. This workshop engages participants in a variety of large group talk strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
The goal of this session is to provide a space for teachers to reflect on their whole-class discussion routines and strategies, and learn new approaches for facilitating collaborative sensemaking talk that welcomes all learners into discussions, honors their ideas, and contextualizes learning.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison, Kelsie Fowler

Educators will engage in a hands-on science lesson that intentionally incorporates technology, centers students and builds agency and critical thinking skills. Educators will discuss what it means to be literate in the digital era and how to transform their teaching to benefit our youngest learners.

TAKEAWAYS:
Intentional integration of technology in early childhood can build agency in our students, provide equitable access to media literacy skills, and transform teaching and learning. Participants will explore how to use digital tools to develop habits of inquiry and expression.

SPEAKERS:
Zachary Orefice, Catherine Knasas, Kelly Houle

This session will provide teachers with practical and effective strategies for supporting Multilingual Learners. Through hands-on activities, we will model best practices for scaffolding the language demands of a science lesson and the language development opportunities provided by the Practices.

TAKEAWAYS:
Science learning and language development are mutually supportive. Language learning occurs as a product of using language. As Multilingual Learners engage in the SEPs, they use disciplinary language to make sense of phenomena and use their emerging language to communicate their new understanding.

SPEAKERS:
Diana Velez, Claudio Vargas

Sponsoring Company: Penda Learning

Penda is a high-quality, gamified intervention and instructional resource that is phenomena-based and 3-D with tools for differentiation and is engaging for all students. Customizable reports and assessments assist with progress monitoring. Penda is handcrafted for NGSS, Texas TEKS and FL SASS.

SPEAKERS:
Mindy Pearson, Taylor Willis, Kathryn Kypreos

We all know that performance tasks are a great way to assess our three-dimensional science standards! Join RCPS’s Elementary Science Coach as she shares her district’s vision of implementing performance tasks across the district. Then, discover how performance tasks have supported a positive shift in 3D.

TAKEAWAYS:
One takeaway from this session is that you will learn how to design, implement, calibrate, and revise performance tasks based on your districts learning progressions.

SPEAKERS:
Christy Hernandez

This session explores an interdisciplinary 5E lesson investigating sound and vibrations using physical and virtual (Scratch) instruments. Participants will learn how music and science educators collaborated to design the lesson, and how music and science can be used to explore cultural connections.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will explore an innovative, interdisciplinary 5E lesson as an example of ways to integrate music into elementary science classrooms. Emphasis will be placed on exploring instruments’ properties, what sounds the instruments make, and how people play them referencing cultural connections.

SPEAKERS:
Graham Johnson, Alesia Moldavan

Sponsoring Company: Adventerra Games North America LLC

Come play & hear from teachers using Adventerra’s unique games to engage students and achieve curricular goals while also addressing students’ eco-anxiety. Will include updates from a Johns Hopkins Univ. study on the effectiveness of our K-12 environmental education games in teaching eco concepts.

SPEAKERS:
Bryan Mundell, Lauren Kelly, Cynthia Crockett, Sue Mundell

Discover how and at what point in the curriculum to teach climate change in the elementary NGSS classroom. Explore student-friendly online resources to engage students, science projects to deepen understanding, and the many ways to move forward with environmental stewardship.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers are introduced to “classroom-tested” climate change activities and online resources that they can use to engage and educate diverse learners. They will also learn how to inspire their students to take climate action, helping to decrease climate anxiety and increase a positive outlook.

SPEAKERS:
Samantha Levine, Kottie Christie-Blick, Jacob Tanenbaum

Sponsoring Company: STEMscopes by Accelerate Learning

Models are tools for representing ideas and developing explanations related to phenomena. Models can be used to deepen student understanding of scientific concepts. You will identify connections to the use of models in your instruction while examining your state standards and/or frameworks.

SPEAKERS:
Laurie Thompson

Participants will explore technology integrated project-based units that guide and support 3D Learning and equity through adaptations by highlighting formative assessment opportunities (LookFors, Discourse Moves, Exit Tickets, Artifacts).

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will become familiar with open source online materials that they can use to supplement or guide their science teaching and units. They will become familiar with technology, assessments, and ways to adapt lesson and units to make them more responsive to their students.

SPEAKERS:
Susan Codere, Temitayo Oni

Sponsoring Company: Savvas Learning Company

How do you enhance critical thinking skills in your classroom? Using research-based instructional strategies, we will model ways to create a classroom learning environment and culture where thinking is valued.

SPEAKERS:
Zipporah Miller

Climate change is here. Come explore ways to teach about this that intersect with issues of justice and provide action for the future. This workshop will support educators in all grades and contexts, including those who can’t even say “climate change”!

TAKEAWAYS:
Strategies for engaging in climate change and climate justice learning appropriate to grade band NGSS standards, climate and energy literacy standards, and for both school and community based learning contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell, Deb Morrison, Kelsie Fowler

Participants will have the opportunity to explore a cybersecurity unit for grades 4-5 with hands-on experiences including defending a home, cryptography, and more. Participants will experience the unit from a hybrid (student & teacher) perspective.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will receive access to unit materials when they leave including the unit, reproducibles, formative assessments, etc., to help their students be aware of safety online. Door prizes will be awarded!

SPEAKERS:
Jess Blust

These immersive STEM lab challenges will engage students by allowing them to explore through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic stimuli. Each student grouping will navigate with their team members to collect evidence and clues to piece together the narrative of each scenario.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will be able to design immersive lessons that go beyond the design process based on multiple STEM skills utilized throughout the school year. These lessons will optimize student engagement and enhance their problem-solving skills.

SPEAKERS:
Brielle Jost

Learn how to integrate some of the Science and Engineering Practices of Asking Questions, Constructing Explanations, and Engaging in Argument From Evidence into lessons driven by a phenomenon. Students of all backgrounds and abilities engage in these practices and feel part of a learning community.

TAKEAWAYS:
Resources for using phenomenon-based lessons, Question Board, Notebook Guidelines, Written Responses, and promoting Scientific Discourse will be shared. A guided lesson will be shared which covers DCI PS3.B and PE 4-PS3-2. A classroom video will be shared.

SPEAKERS:
Mary O'Donnell, Gargi Adhikari

Let's talk about how you can foreground science while you elevate literacy in an interdisciplinary classroom.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn to identify opportunities to include high-quality science-focused literacy in the elementary classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Miranda Fitzgerald, Marshall Escamilla, Mary Starr

This workshop provides participants the opportunity to engage in and reflect on science learning aligned to a framework for designing instruction that is more equitable and engaging for all students. Participants will reflect on the framework and consider ways it can apply in their own setting.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will walk away with a framework and concrete examples of its application for creating science learning experiences that are more equitable and engaging, and reflect on its use at the school, district, or regional level in supporting enactment of high-quality curriculum & instruction.

SPEAKERS:
Christi Sanderson

Advanced spatial thinkers do well in science, and building spatial skills can improve achievement. In this session, we will explore why science teachers should care about spatial skills, pedagogical approaches to build these skills, and how they can be put into practice to build science knowledge.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will (1) understand what spatial skills are and why they are important for success in science, and (2) learn to identify how an NGSS performance expectation activates students to think spatially and how to leverage this to build scientific knowledge through engaging classroom practices.

SPEAKERS:
Rebecca Dupuis, Katie Stevenson

Computer science is integral to STEM because it enhances problem-solving capabilities, enables data-driven research, facilitates automation and innovation, and serves as a unifying element that connects and supports various STEM disciplines.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn simple, yet effective, ways to integrate computer science skills into their STEM and Science Lessons.

SPEAKERS:
Brandon McKinney, Kristin Luthi

This introduction to STEM for elementary, secondary, or special education classrooms will allow participants to explore motion and energy while creating their own Rube Goldberg machine using found objects.

TAKEAWAYS:
Students can easily plan, build, and solve problems on their own Rube Goldberg project using recycled and found materials.

SPEAKERS:
Elaine Sevin

Menus are great opportunities for students to lead their own exploration of a science topic and be creative! In this workshop, learn the incredible flexibility in learning that menus offer, and how they can drive student interest. Delve into various menu styles and rubrics, and enhance your lessons!

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn different menu styles for effective integration into 5E lesson plans, such as adding a menu into the Elaborate phase, or even menus to be used throughout all 5Es. We will also explore different menu formats (online, etc.) and presentation options to maintain student interest.

SPEAKERS:
Rama Sreekantham

Join us to explore the nature of science using parallel circuits and the SEPs to make sense of unexpected circuit behavior. Uncover the underlying scientific principles and learn how to use the systems thinking phenomenon iceberg to track student sensemaking during 3-dimensional science instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will understand the nature of parallel circuits and understand why the perplexing parallel circuit breaks the rules based on the photon energies of different colors of light. This will all be done while using the iceberg model to record patterns, structure, and mental models.

SPEAKERS:
Deborrah Black, Lisa Kist, DaNel Hogan

What is design? How do we teach it to young children? Get a glimpse into a design project for grades 2-5 inspired by What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada. Students explore their why through values, creativity, and open-mindedness to design and build an idea that will change the world.

TAKEAWAYS:
Learn how to shift students' attention to their purpose, passions, and high-level thinking vs. just wanting to make something in a design or STEM class. Teach them how to share their amazing ideas with a pitch. Go through the process of exploring your “why” and creating your own "wild idea."

SPEAKERS:
Heidi Jaeckel